By Topf Wells
Jim Hess orchestrated a wonderful end to the spring workday season on a hot May 22 at Dane County’s Davidson property on the Sugar River.  The mission was to complete a large brush bundle on the western bank downstream from the old metal bridge.

The day started well.  The brush bundle we installed two years ago has functioned perfectly.  Folks who had not helped install it had difficulty finding where the former stream bank ended and the addition being created by the brush bundle started.

We had about 12-15 volunteers on a day that started hot and steamy.  The wind shifted mid-morning; coming from the north, it broke some of the humidity.  Hot is better than hot and steamy.  Adjusting on the fly, we were able to keep about the right balance of sawyers, haulers, and installers.  We finished the brush bundle, a goal I thought we had no chance of reaching at the start.  The completed bundle extends just as far into the stream as it should and has been properly driven, stuck, woven, staked, entwined and stomped.  It should work as well as its older brother.

This was fun but hard work.  I think the fact that we knew finishing this bundle would build on our successful work of two years ago kept us going.  That and the fact that once you’re there, you might as well get something done.  We used a couple of fairly large box elders and some of the old brush piles that we were supposed to use last year but truckloads of invasive honeysuckle are now trapping Sugar River silt and providing a home to invertebrates and little fish.  The density of a honeysuckle thicket is astounding.  Two sawyers and several haulers worked for two hours on one I estimate at 151 square feet.  After all that effort, we had cleared about 75%.  The brush bundle ate all the honeysuckle and everything else we threw at it.

Several groups of kayakers floated by and seemed delighted to watch other sweat as they floated.  We might set up a toll gate next time.

As always, lots of great volunteers and some tried and true friends of conservation and the chapter showed up.   Rodd Wangren, former Board Member, Kurt Osterby, our former treasurer visiting from his new home in New Mexico – where he reports life is good – and Kathleen Falk, who helped conserve a lot of trout water as County Executive, were a great help. Several veterans of this year’s workdays made a final appearance– they really deserve many trout for the rest of the year.

Final thanks to Jim for organizing this and all the season’s workdays.  The day’s work is hard enough but Jim has to tend to many and varied details for each session.  THANK YOU, JIM.

We hope to see many of you at our fall and winter workdays.  You can be sure Jim will come up with some great work on a good mix of streams.